An Interview with Ace Tee

It would be easy to describe Ace Tee Germany’s answer to ‘90s R’n’B royalty; far harder to unpick the layers that make that analogy insufficient. Tarin Wilda wields the shapeshifting might that makes giants of a generation raised on the internet. Combined with a hunger for success only known by those who had to work hard for it, her rising star is unstoppable. Speaking to ZOO from her adopted home of Hamburg, she unpacks the tiers that – by our standards at least – make her more than a hit machine.

REBEKKA AYRES: Maybe you could start by telling us how you started making your own music. Did it all begin in your bedroom?

ACE TEE: Actually, it started in a house for teenagers. I don’t know what the English equivalent would be, but in Germany, kids have the possibility to hang out at the local youth club, this so-called “house for teenagers.” That’s where I fell in love with making music; they had a room with a computer, a keyboard and a guy teaching kids how to play. After that, I started making music in my bedroom, but it took me a while because I could not afford to buy a laptop.

RA: Both your sound and vision seem to draw quite heavily from the cultural scene of the ‘90s. Who inspires you most from this decade?

AT: Well, what I love about the ‘90s is that there were so many subcultures. Today, that got lost somehow. When I look at pictures and videos from back then, you can tell that everyone had a different style because they belonged to a different subculture. I find that really inspiring. When it comes to music influences, it would be stuff like Da Brat, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah.

RA: What about influences from the present?

From the UK scene, I love Skepta. From the Africa scene, I love Wizkid. There is so much I admire and love! People see me as a ‘90s kid but I’m not only listening to ‘90s music.

RA: You’re a solo artist who loves to collaborate. Your most frequent musical partner is Kwam.E. How did you two start working together?

AT: I hadn’t known him for long but I asked him to jump on Bist du down. After everything that happened with that, I needed him by my side. Kinda like, “oh, you want to sign me? You need to sign Kwam.E too!” or, “you want me to go on tour? Well, then Kwam.E has to come too.” At this point, we’ve each started working with other people as well, but after everything we’ve been through I needed him and he needed me. I call us Ruff and Smooth, and I am so thankful for him being so understanding and supportive of me.

RA: What makes this creative partnership so electric?

AT: We are very different, as I said: Ruff and Smooth. So maybe that’s it, that we are so close but also so different. And that we know each other and ourselves very well.

RA: Is it possible to describe your way of working in a collaboration? Is there a certain unique thing you bring to the table every time or does your style shift organically and you sync with whoever you’re working with that day?

AT: I really couldn’t say! I know I always have a mind of my own. Even when it is someone who has a lot of experience in whatever they do, I still try to go against the usual ideas and create something new. I think that’s it.

RA: You and Kwam.E made friends in the circles of Hamburg’s German-Ghanaian community. Is there a lot of crossover in creative energy in that sphere?

AT: Hmm… I would not say that necessarily. You see, Kwam.E and me – we both come from low income families. Being creative was more like an escape for us. Even though, of course, we grew up with singing and dancing, more than typical German families I guess. But being creative was never something we could choose for. Like, “Mommy, I want to be a musician and I need a laptop” – that would never come out of my mouth. It was more like: I know I gotta work hard to have the luxury of being creative.

RA: Having grown up in Germany with a double cultural identity, do you feel more connected to one culture than the other?

AT: Well, I’m not so much connected to Germany but rather to Hamburg. Hamburg is my everything. I would say: first Ghana, second Hamburg, third Germany.

RA: Tell me more about Hamburg. Do you gel better with Hamburg than Berlin?

AT: I love Hamburg. Berlin is nice for a moment, even a month sometimes. But I need Hamburg to stay focused, to stay me, to know what I really want. I was born in Berlin but I lived in Hamburg all my life and – never say never – but I think it’s gonna stay like this for the rest of my life.

RA: How do you spend your time there when you’re not working?

AT: Never not working. [Winks.] But I have somebody by my side whom I really love, so sometimes I chill. I also have my family, my sister and mom. My friends. I try to see them as often as I can. But right now – my mind is always working.

RA: And when it comes to recording, what kind of studio environment helps you make your best work?

AT: Well, most of the time it’s gotta be late at night! No WhatsApp, no Insta... and the lights have to be nice. That’s about it. A nice place where I can unleash the chaos. But I don’t need anything special, nothing too fancy.

RA: While you’ve got a big music label behind you, you continue to upload a lot of your work via Soundcloud. What does this online platform offer you that the standard commercial channels don’t?

AT: It’s true – I sometimes do upload to Soundcloud. My label does not like it. [Winks.] But I am making a lot of music right now, also music that will never come out. I have the luxury to express myself through music as I want.

RA: Some (old people) say there’s nothing fresh or new happening in music nowadays because we have a whole archive of music history at our fingertips, we’re just recycling the past. But maybe technology and digital communities are adding something new to the mix. What do you think?

AT: Well, history has a tendency of repeating itself, doesn’t it? But I don’t think that there is nothing fresh coming out. If you think of the African input on pop music worldwide right now, that’s so fresh. Even if the music is nothing new to us, it is new to many other people. And also, I kinda like that people who are in their 40s are coming up to me to tell me they like my stuff.

RA: How much do you connect with your fans online?

AT: It’s hard for me to be like an influencer and talk to people over the ‘Gram. That’s not me. But I see and read everything and try to answer as much as I can.

RA: Next to making music, you’ve directed your own music videos, collaborated on a fashion collection for H&M, and worked in your mother’s hair salon. Is there anything you can’t do?!

AT: A lot! [Laughs.] I always have people around me that help, it’s not just me. I just thought about opening a new hair salon – but I put it on hold. I really want to work and I love it when people give me the chance – then I go all in and ain’t nobody gonna stop me.